This invention relates to pump assembly for removing fluid from reservoirs through an elongated tube which projects into the reservoir, and, more particularly, to a pump assembly designed to remove fluids such as oil from the oil pan of a vehicle with minimum spillage and in a manner which prevents vaporization or fluid loss.
Heretofore there are many circumstances in which it is necessary to periodically remove a fluid such as a lubricating fluid from a reservoir. This is most often encountered in vehicle servicing. However, there are other circumstances where fluids may normally be retained in a reservoir or tank, and it is necessary to pump or remove the fluid from that reservoir or tank for one purpose or another. When such removal is undertaken in vehicles, typically a drain plug is provided in the bottom of the tank or reservoir in the vehicle, and that drain plug is removed so that the fluid may be collected in a pan or container.
With the advent of high speed custom service stations designed to replace vehicle fluids in a speedy fashion, the time required to elevate a vehicle or otherwise position a vehicle to remove drain plugs from oil pans or other reservoirs has led to undesirable delays in the servicing of vehicles. More over such vehicle serving equipment is expensive. Thus there has developed a need for an improved and more efficient manner of removing such fluids from reservoirs. This need persists not only with respect to servicing of automobiles, but also in other fields. For example, one may desire to remove liquid fertilizer from a large storage tank for placement into smaller dispensing tanks. There are numerous other circumstances wherein removal of fluid from one container and placement in another container is desired.
It is against this background of need that the present invention has been developed